‘Revolution’ to Reveal What Caused the Blackout Soon

The NBC drama “Revolution” will reveal the answer to one of its basic questions–what made the power go off–early in the second half of its first season, creator Eric Kripke said Saturday night in Los Angeles.

The show, set in North America 15 years after all the electricity in the world went out, resumes March 25. Its 10th episode aired Nov. 26.

The break between the first and second halves of the season allowed Kripke and the writers to assess what was working and what wasn’t, he said during a panel discussion with some of the show’s creators and actors at the Paley Center for Media. The discussion was distributed live on the Internet through Livestream.

“I thought we did a pretty great job introducing the characters,” Kripke said, adding, “Characters come first in show like this.”

But “I don’t think we moved the story fast enough,” he added. In the second half of the season, there will be more “character twists” and the story will open up. “I’m hopeful the fans will dig it.”

The science behind why the power went out will be explained by the character Rachel Matheson, who knows what happened and would have no reason to delay saying it until perhaps the May sweeps period, said Kripke, who created the WB series “Supernatural” in 2005.

The show will raise more questions and mysteries to entice its audience to keep watching, he said, adding that coming episodes will focus on the revolution against Sebastian Monroe, general of the militia that controls the area where most of the action has taken place.

“Every question that has been asked, we answer it before the end of the season,” Kripke added.

J.J. Abrams, a top movie director and co-creator of the TV shows “Felicity” and “Lost,” said he agreed to become a “Revolution” co-creator and executive producer because he wanted to work with Kripke and because of his pitch. “When Eric pitched this, I thought I want to see that show.”

Kripke said “Revolution” is about family, rather than about war or the blackout. “Can this family–some related by blood, some related by circumstance–persevere against overwhelming odds?”

Abrams agreed that the “core of the series was the characters.”

Kripke did say “Revolution” was partially inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” series. “What makes it different from Middle Earth is it’s our world.”

Jon Favreau, who directed the pilot, said “Revolution” initially focused on Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson, played by Tracy Spiridakos, and her evolution from small-town farm girl to freedom fighter. But allusions to other territories carved from the former U.S. give the show more avenues to explore, he said.

Spiridakos said that in coming episodes, the question for her character is: Is she able to keep her humanity?

Her love interest, Lt. Jason Neville, played by J.D. Pardo, is “around more” in the second half of the season.

Pardo, who plays the rebellious son of Monroe Militia Capt. Tom Neville, said Jason’s relationship with Charlie resembles Romeo and Juliet, with his loyalty to the militia and her’s to her family.

Billy Burke plays Miles Matheson, one of the founding fathers of the Monroe Republic who later left power and now is considered a traitor. He said he often raises the question of whether Miles is redeemable with Kripke.

“As we saw in the first half of the season, Miles didn’t want to be here in the first place,” Burke said. “He’s starting to face those undeniable conflicts,” including “What will I do for these people who surround me?”

“It’s been fun to sort of peel back the onion layers for this guy, who’s just busted in so many ways,” he added.

Kripke said that if the show was set five years earlier, “Miles would have been the bad guy. … In the second half of the season, he’s thrust into a situation where he has to be a general again.”

Kripke described Burke’s character as “a really complicated protagonist” but said “he’s redeemable. He’s trying to be better and that’s everything.”

Giancarlo Esposito, who plays Tom Neville, said his character is a soldier who follows the rules. Monroe is his family, but his relationship with the general is ginger because he is “unhinged.”

David Lyons, who plays Monroe, said most of the characters are gray, a mix of good and bad, though his is more blackish-gray. “He is a broken man. The question is can he be mended.”

The show is shot in Wilmington, N.C., and the cast said the community has been very supportive. “Everyone is so generous. We love being there, and they seem to love having us,” Burke said.

He described “Revolution” as “a very physical and tough show to make,” but added that “it’s a little stupid how much we (in the cast) dig each other.”

Kripke said the first in a series of webisodes focusing on the relationship between Tom Neville and Monroe has been released.

Esposito said he worked as hard on the webisodes as he has on the TV episodes.